Blue World, The-Jack Vance novel, book review

Blue World, The-Jack Vance novel

The Blue World is a 183 page novel that was written by Vance in 1963 and first published in 1966.  It is a major expansion of the 62 page novella called “The Kragen” that Vance had written earlier in 1963.  “The Kragen” is well worth reading on its own but focuses mostly on the giant sea creature called King Kragen and has much less world building and satire.  The Blue World should appeal to many general readers and not simply to Vance fans.  It would also be a good novel to begin with for those who are not already familiar with the amazing writings of Jack Vance.

Vance is often at his very best when he creates new worlds, sometimes futuristic ones, and often on other planets.  They might involve a traveler who visits various planets or different cultures on the same planet.  Sometimes, as in the case of The Blue World, it involves people whose ancestors came from a technologically advanced society who are now marooned, abandoned or simply out of contact with previous knowledge and technology.  Usually these tales are infused with wit, irony, social psychological insights and many cultural anthropological issues.  Frequently they involve philosophy, religions, manners, customs and various unusual or even bizarre ways of thinking, behaviors and environments.  Sometimes our laws of physics are changed or telepathic or other unusual forces are introduced.  Vance invariably constructs these worlds with a masterly use of language and amazing imagination and creativity.  In The Blue World he creates a wonderfully complex, fascinating, and thought provoking world.

In this stand alone novel, that is not part of any series, Vance introduces a water world society of people whose ancestors originally came  from a scientifically advanced society that flew to the Blue World twelve generations ago.  Although now largely forgotten by the current generations, these ancestors were convicts being flown to a penal colony on another planet to be imprisoned.  But they took control of the ship and force landed it on the Blue World.  Each person now belongs to a group or caste of people that is named after the crime their ancestors committed.  Each caste has specific job duties and an hierarchal position in the Blue World society.  These include Hoodwinks, Bezlers, Hooligans, Swindlers, Intercessors and others.  The Hoodwinks, for example, are in charge of the semaphore communication between the towers on various clusters of water pads.  They wink their hood to communicate.  Swindlers are the fisherman, etc.  After twelve generations the total population has increased from 200 people to around 20,000.

There is no land in this water world, only small islands of lily pad like plants anchored by very deep roots to the bottom of the sea.  Families or groups of people live on the various pads in simple huts.  Each pad cluster uses a 60 to 90 feet high communication tower to flash visual communication signals (lamps or white targets) to other pads.  For many generations the residents have provided food for and even worshipped an intelligent, giant squid like sea creature called a kragen, naming this one "King Kragen."  At 60 feet long and 30 feet wide he is much larger than other kragens that seem to range from four to fifteen feet in length, with a few monstrous sized ones at 20 feet, a mere third of King Kragen's length.  King Kragen has four propulsive vanes, a tough black cartilage, four mandibles, eight palps and a giant turret with four eyes over a foot wide each with two eyes in the front and two in the back.  The "Intercessors" are a priestly caste who coordinate the worship, feeding, communication and ceremonies surrounding King Kragen.  They claim to have a covenant with King Kragen and communicate with the creature through underwater sound waves and other secret means.  They also are at the top of the caste hierarchy and live in luxury while doing little work.  Intercessors have a strong vested interest in preserving tradition and the status quo.

King Kragen feeds off the sponges that the people grow for food on arbors around their pads.  He also chases away smaller kragens that might try to steal the sponges.  In addition to eating much of their food supply, King Kragen also will not allow people to make sea voyages and will attack the person or property of those who speak ill of him or otherwise anger him.  Most of the citizens are content with things as they are, although there is some resentment that the Intercessors do not do much work, live in comparative luxury and consider themselves superior.

Sklar Hast is a very independent, resourceful and rather irreligious citizen who objects to what he considers the tyranny of King Kragen, referring to this as "ignoble servility" and "groveling to a sea-beast."  When King Kragen fails to protect Sklar's sponge garden from an invading smaller kragen, he decides defend his main food source.  His attempts at protecting his property, however, bring him into direct conflict with tradition, the Intercessors who see their authority challenged, and with King Kragen himself.  The social, political and psychological manipulation and maneuvering of the citizens is intriguing, highly entertaining and something of a Swiftian satire of other societies.

There are no metal deposits on the water planet of Blue World so tools and weapons are made from bone.  By utilizing innovative scientific procedures Sklar and his friends try to create iron and copper by extracting it from blood and other biological sources.  In The Blue World we encounter more pure science than in any other Vance novel.  It provides insight into how an intelligent population of people survive and evolve their society in a world that has severely limited natural resources. 

After my third reading of The Blue World, my appreciation for this captivating novel continues to increase.  It is essential reading for any Vance fans, but should appeal to many other readers who might be open to reading an imaginative, creative, well written science fiction novel with Swift like satire. I’ve read it several times and rate it a 5.